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Friday, May 18, 2012

Sepia Saturday: Join the Group

Sepia Saturday challenges
bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt,
although actually a wedding party, reminded me of churchgoers.The very faithful church-going Methodists in
my family have left behind some reminders of how important the church was in
their everyday lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

My second great-grand uncle John Wesley Jollettwas a Methodist minister in Jollett
Hollow located in Page County, Virginia.

About 1914
Back row: John Wesley and Sarah Elizabeth Smith JollettThis is probably a family picture with children and grandchildren.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Hunter, granddaughter of Catherine Meadows
(little blond girl in middy blouse)(Click on image to enlarge)

John Jollett was married to Sarah Elizabeth Smith, granddaughter
of Reverend William Smith.A farmer, storekeeper and post master, John Jollett
was also the second Methodist minister in the Naked Creek community, taking
over when the first minister died in 1846. While Reverend Smith built a chapel
on the south branch of Naked Creek, John Jollett built one in the hollow. Years
later in 1884 John and Elizabeth gave land to build the new church which is
still being used today.

Jollett United Methodist Church(Click on image to enlarge)

The community itself and the church were named to
acknowledge the influence of the Jollett families that originally settled
there.

Meanwhile during that same time period my
great-grandmother Mary Frances Jollett Daviswas active in the United Brethren Church
in nearby Shenandoah.(It later merged
with the Methodist Church in the 1960s to form the United Methodist
Church.)She even had her own
hymnal.Her sister Laura Jollettand
husband William J. Sullivan are listed among the earliest members having joined
in 1893.

The Gleaners was a women’s mission society.In the Methodist Church, this
group became the United Methodist Women.

Sometime between 1913 and 1915, Reverend Ferguson posed
front and center with the Men of the United Brethren Church.(Today this group is known as United
Methodist Men.)I can claim at least 10
of them as mine.

Men of the United Brethren Church
Shenandoah, Virginia(Click on image to enlarge)

Granddaddy is the first man on the left, second row from the bottom
(they're standing on the first step)(Click on image to enlarge)

Then fast-forward about 40-50 years to the Cradock United
Methodist Men in Portsmouth, Virginia.There’s my grandfather again, still a faithful servant and volunteer in
the men’s group of the church.

Picture taken before 1963
Grandma and Granddaddy Davis are in the second row.
They are the 3rd and 4th from the right.
Grandma is wearing a dark dress with short sleeves.
Granddaddy is to the right of her.(Click on image to enlarge)

Members of the Cradock church loved a church dinner.I don’t know what the occasion was, but there
was a good crowd at this church dinner held in the old fellowship hall affectionately
known as the “Green Building,” not because it was eco-friendly but because the
exterior shingles were actually painted green.

For my family service to the community and an enriched
social life are what Church is all about.

36 comments:

I love your group shots. I notice you have Killeens in your family. My maiden name was Killeen - my family came from County Mayo to Canada, where I grew up. Most of the family stayed there but some drifted to the U.S.

Cool! I'd say maybe we're related, but I'm not even related to the Killeens. That's my great-grandmother's first husband. I descend through the second husband. But all my little old lady aunties were Killeens so I do have an interest in them.

This was especially interesting to me today because I'm also Methodist, and I enjoy all history about the denomination. The pictures are great! I hope I'm able to find such great pics for my family's memoir.

That's amazing that the little church is still there. And to have a town named after Rev. Jollett. What a tribute.I especially love the photo of the church dinner. They're all waiting so patiently for the food to arrive. Nancy

What a great family history - you are so fortunate to have these photos and to be able to identify as many people as you have. How amazing to know all about the years of service that your grandparents devoted to their church not just in heresy but in photographs.

Thanks Teresa. I do feel fortunate but have to remind myself of that whenever I read other blogs by people who are transcribing old letters and diaries and such. I always feel short-changed by comparison, but in fact I have a lot compared to other people.

There is a strong Methodist tradition in the town close to where I lived. The John Wesley preached in the town on more than one occasion and in the Octagonal chapel a year after it was built in 1763.So I made an immediate conection with your John Wesley (Jollett) and his family - you've shared a great family history.

There are a number of John Wesleys in my family, and I've always wondered if it's coincidence or a deliberate connection to THE John Wesley. The preacher that John Wesley Jollett followed had been ordained by Francis Asbury, one of the key leaders of Methodism in America.

A remarkable series of photographs full of social history. The last reminded me that churches, or rather their members, always seem to feed you very well. Must be something to do with giving love with providing food.

Wendy, this is an excellent article on church history in your area! Somebody will be Googling one of the early churches and will come across your link and say, hey, I didn't know that they merged or have been there for so long! How wonderful that your family has been so involved with these churches over the years also.

When I was involved in church in the 90's we all looked forward to our Wednesday night dinners.

It still tickles me though, to think that they would have to say that their church was located near Naked Creek.

How you keep track of all this, I will never know. I sure enjoy reading your posts about it though:) Btw, you've received the Beautiful Blogger Award today:) http://lotsofcrochetstitches.blogspot.com/2012/05/time-to-accept-and-share-beautiful.html

Copy award to desk top, write a post and share a bit about yourself. Pass the award onto other bloggers you really like. Let them know you gave them the award. I think that's all there is to it, but I'm fairly new to this blog award thing. This is only my 2nd blog award ever. It's always so fun to visit your blog, I thought others might want to stop by for a visit too:) Happy Sunday to you!

What a wonderful collection of photos of your family and the churches that were an important part of their lives. Have you contacted the churches to take a look at their church records? I was given access to the church minutes for two of the churches my ancestors attended, transcribed the minutes and posted them online. I was thrilled to find in the church minutes Resolutions written in honor of my ancestors who had passed away, ancestors who had to acknowledge non-attendance, the fact that some were charter members and the dates when they joined the church, etc. It's well worth the effort to learn if the churches have minutes dating back to the when the church was started. You may find some interesting details about your family members.

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net